Examined Christian Faith 'Benedict Arnold' 1.3

So it would seem to be two really strange things about the human race, 1^st that we are haunted by the idea of a behavior that we should practice (you can call it whatever you like, morality, fair play, law of human nature, or just being a decent human being)  and 2^nd that we fail miserably at the 1^st.  It is strange because what we call the laws of nature are really in fact simply observations of what always happens.  As Isaac Newton observed, if I cut an apple loose from it’s tree, it will fall, it is not because the apple just remembered that it that it should fall, it just happens.  

However, the law of morality is a different matter entirely, it does not mean that this is what humans do; in fact, many humans choose to ignore the law completely, and none of us follows it all of the time.  The law of gravity tells you what an apple will do if you cut it loose from its tree, but the law of human nature tells you what humans should and should not do.  It is the only law that seems to have something outside of it beyond the actual facts and there is no explaining it away.

I was having this very conversation with a friend of mine, and it occurred to me that his example is one we have all shared.  If I am in a parking lot looking for a place to park my car (picture Black Friday at a busy shopping mall) I respond completely different to the person who is parked in a stall because they got there before me, and the person who cuts me off to sneak into the parking spot I had been waiting for.  They are both an inconvenience to me; however, while I am not angry with the first man, I am furious with the second.  

Or perhaps this explains it better, if once I am inside the shopping mall and I accidentally trip over another shopper and hurt my arm, I may be upset for a second, before I realize it was a mistake, however I would be really ticked off at a teenager who stuck out his leg in an attempt to trip me (which I nimbly jumped over).  That’s the strange thing, because the person who actually hurt me, I am not angry with, yet I am boiling at the one who actually did me no harm.

Alternatively, from the American viewpoint, think back to our own Revolutionary War and Benedict Arnold.  He was handsomely rewarded by the British for his betrayal of this fledgling country, yet once he was in England, he was treated like the jackal that he was; because while they paid him for his service, even they were repulsed by his behavior. 

Therefore, it would seem that decent behavior is not behavior that is useful to us or that does not cause us harm, and it is certainly not behavior that pays.  What is it?  It is being content with what you are paid for a job, when you might have made three times the amount, taking a test honestly when you have a chance to cheat, respecting a woman when she says no, when you want to make love to her, keeping promises that you would rather not, and telling the truth even it the truth may hurt you.  The law of morality does not concern itself with what is best for society, because really why should I care what is best for society except when it pays me personally? 

That is what we are left with.  The law of human nature, the law of morality is that ‘you should be unselfish.  Not that you are unselfish, or even that you like being unselfish, just that you should be’.  In fact, it is an idea that we cannot get out of our minds.  It is not a statement about how we want others to behave for our own convenience, for actions that we call  unfair are not the same as that which we find inconvenient, frequently they are the exact opposite.  We are left with no option other then to conclude that in regards to the law of right and wrong, good and evil, that there is something beyond the normal facts of our behavior, none of us made it, but it is definitely a real law that presses on us constantly to obey.

For a really good book that can explain all of this in manner far beyond my humble skills, I again recommend Timothy Keller's  The Reason For God

You will have noticed that I have not yet addressed the issue of ‘God’, especially not in the Christian context (I will get there). What I am concerned with at this point is understanding what we can observe as evidence for what we can not.   Think about the law of human nature and what it tells you about the universe we live in.  

Which is where we will head next.

Christian Small compromises - Right from Wrong (part 2 of 4)

If you are expecting a list of what is right and what is wrong, you are going to be disappointed, you going to have to work harder than that.  To truly understand right from wrong you must understand what makes it right or wrong and why. 

By the beginning of this century, over 2800 major corporations were mandating that their employees take training in tolerance.  Almost overnight the person who dares make a moral judgment is an outcast, and is frequently greeted with a remark such as, “What gives you the right to say that?  You’re a bigot.  Who do you think you are?”

The truthfulness of what one says is no longer the issue.  One’s right to speak the truth is jeopardized by “positive tolerance”.  The Bible is not quoted much in public anymore because its content is regarded as bigoted and anti-multiculturalism.  Multiculturalism has also changed.  It is no longer confined to racial issues.  It now is the application of tolerance in such a way that all cultures are equal in belief, values, lifestyle and truth claims.  If you deny this, you are regarded a bigot.  

When all values, truth claims and beliefs are equal, you lose the ability to choose right from wrong.  This is because if all views are equal, then it does not matter which one you choose.  They have no substance and they are inconsequential.  One’s beliefs have nothing to do with the real world of cause and effect.  We see this clearly in the lives of most American Christians today.  Today there is no connection between belief and behavior.  There is a gaping chasm between what Christian’s profess to believe and those same Christian’s behavior.

The idea of an absolute right and wrong is terrifying and does not fit into our tolerant society, and increasingly it does not fit into the churches of America.  Tolerance is easier, and immunity is certainly easier then repentance.

What is right and what is wrong?  In able to make a compromise, you must first know what is right and wrong, however to have an ethical code that distinguishes the difference between right and wrong, you must first know the truth; because ethics cannot operate without truth.

In a recent survey when asked to give the definition of ‘truth’, only 4 out of 7000 Christians could do it.

Now it’s your turn ‘What is truth?’

According to Webster’s Dictionary, Truth is that which conforms to fact or reality.  Or another definition is: “Truth is that which has fidelity to an original.  (faithful to an original reference point)”

There are two models of truth.  

God establishes absolute truth (absolutism) and man determines truth (relativism).  A Christian believes in absolutism.  God’s moral principles are grounded upon His absolute truth.  What is absolute truth?  It is true for all people, in all places, at all times.  It is constant and unchanging.  It has an objective basis outside of self.  God and His Word are an unchanging reference point external to us.  

Right from wrong is nothing less than the revelation of God’s righteous character.  Something is right or wrong because it is true of God.  For example the Bible states in the 10 commandments “You shall not murder?”  The reason is because God is life.  He is the source and giver of life.  The command flows from and is the expression of God’s very Person and nature.  

Thus, it is the character of God that is the basis for discerning right from wrong.  Right and wrong do not change, because God’s character does not change.  God’s commands are not for Him, but for us.  They are for our good.  They are to protect us and to provide for us.  They are the safeguard of love, like an umbrella, if you remove yourself from obedience; you remove yourself from protection and provision.  God’s moral absolutes flow from His love to us.  He is trustworthy and He wants to provide for us and protect us.

The more you know of God’s character, the better you understand right from wrong.  If however you need a cheat sheet might I suggest this as a general guideline.  As a culture, we tend to be an instant gratification society, and by instant I am not talking about in a minute or two, I am talking about right this second.  Like those who live solely in the secular world, Christians today tend to make choices that are based upon immediate return.  However, there is a paradox associated with moral choices: most right choices have immediate “negative” consequences (sacrifice, planning, delayed gratification, self-denial, peer disapproval, etc.) while most wrong choices have immediate “positive” consequences (temporal pleasure, peer acceptance, false sense of freedom, etc.)

Nevertheless, in the long run, there is a total reversal of consequences.  Wrong choices bear more and more bitter fruit and right choices produce ongoing well-being.  The reason for that truth is the character of God.  This is a moral universe ruled by a holy God.  Therefore, the universe is built upon delayed gratification, not indulgence.

The most dangerous person in America now is the Bible-believing Christian who does not flinch from saying there is such a thing as right and wrong for everybody. 

Next Good verses Evil

Christian Small Compromises - Who Determines what is Right and Wrong, Good and Evil? (part 1 of 4)

Small compromises, that is the question posed to my bible study group, “What are the consequences of small compromises?   The short answer is that you become a small transmitting rubber tube (wait for part 4).  However it begs the larger question, compromising on what?  What are we compromising on when we compromise on our commitment to live for God and to obey Him in all things?  Is it a compromise between right and wrong?  Or a compromise between good and evil?  Is there a difference?  For that matter who determines what is right and wrong, good and evil? 

The problem with the question is that it scratches at the surface, but that is how American Christians like it.  Let us just scratch at the dirt that is on the surface, because to actually use a spade and unearth what lies beneath, might just convict us, we might not be as holy as we want to assume ourselves to be.  If we scratch at the surface, we can go home at night, feeling smug and safe in our conviction that we are good, nice people.  However, if we look deeper we might not like what we see.

Aren’t you glad I am not in your bible study group?  I have never been one of those let’s play it safe type of guys; no, I am more of the, in for a penny, in for a pound kind of guy.  So over the next couple of postings I am going to peel layers off of this onion so to speak and look at the question "What are the consequences of small compromises”? 

The difference is, that we need to take a look at everything the question is inferring, that we know who decides what is right and wrong, good and evil, that we know what right and wrong is, that we know what good and evil is, and perhaps most importantly that we understand what a compromise is.  I do not think that the modern American Christian understands any of what the question infers.  Oh, I think we appreciate the question in the grand scale, as in – ‘Hitler was evil, Jesus was good’; but in our day-to-day lives, we miss the point of the question.  Moreover, if we do not understand the question how can we answer it?  

I am going to address briefly the first point in this posting, to be followed by an examination of the other points of consideration. 

Who determines what is right and wrong, good and evil?   

Now before you take the easy way out, stop and think about your answer.  Because the answer you are about to say means that your own personal opinion does not matter, that like it or not good and evil are determined outside of yourself.  That what you may think is personally acceptable is in fact evil; which says what about yourself?   

This is not a question to fail to give serious thought to, this is not a question to say one thing to and do the opposite.  Really think about your answer, only answer it when you are 100% positive of your answer.  Because once you take that step there is no going back, once you accept that it is not you who decides right and wrong, good and evil, then you are accountable to someone for everything you say, think and do.  How you not only answer that question but live it in your life determines life or death. 

If you believe the following three passages are the truth then you have your answer.  

“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,  the world, and all who live in it;   for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. “  Psalms 24:1-2

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  “John 1:1-5

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  Genesis 1:1

Because Christians do not believe humans made themselves or occurred "naturally”, we do not believe we are free to do whatever suits us.  Because God is the author of life, He and He alone determines the standards of behavior for those members of His creation.  Right and wrong, Good and Evil, the issue is already decided, if you like it or not.